Australian Open: Li credits new coach with turning her game around

MELBOURNE, Australia — French Open champion Li Na credits new coach Carlos Rodriguez with turning her tennis career around — and saving her marriage.

The Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia — French Open champion Li Na credits new coach Carlos Rodriguez with turning her tennis career around — and saving her marriage.

Last August, the 30-year-old Chinese star hired Rodriguez, who coached Justine Henin to seven Grand Slam titles, after the conflicts with her previous coach — husband Jiang Shan — became too much to bear.

"The funny thing is, I think two years ago in China, someone said I was divorced," Li said Tuesday after beating Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals of the Australian Open against Maria Sharapova. "Because they were thinking, we're always shouting, maybe we're divorced."

"It's just being coach and husband is — how you say — tough to find a balance!" she added.

Now Li and Jiang have found marital peace again — fewer disagreements on or off the court — and she is winning again.

Li hired Rodriguez after losses at Wimbledon and the London Olympics. He joined her midweek at a tournament in Cincinnati — they had never even met before — and she captured the title, her first since her breakthrough Grand Slam win at Roland Garros in 2011.

She then won a second title at the inaugural Shenzhen Open earlier this month and is now in the semifinals of the Australian Open for the third time in four years.

Rodriguez has had a steadying influence on Li, who had previously struggled to control her emotions on court and has appeared more composed since starting to work with him.

At one point during the second set against Radwanska, Li lost her service toss in the sun and batted the ball five rows deep into the crowd. Rather than let the mishit unnerve her, however, she calmly made her second serve and put away a deft backhand volley to win the point.